Imaginary Fiends #5 Review and **SPOILERS**

I Think My Brain Fell Out

Written by: Tim Seeley
Art by: Stephen Molnar, Quinton Winter, and Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 28, 2018

**NON-SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

I'm shocked to say that this has become one of the books that I look forward to reading the most each and every month. It looks great each and every issue, the story is interesting, and it's just a whole lot of fun to read. There is that little bit of creepiness factor in the characters, especially Polly Peachpit and Charlie Chokecherry, that adds another dimension to an already engaging story. I have no way of predicting what is coming next, so my only hope is that Melba Li gets fleshed out some more as the fun continues.


Explain It!

Polly isn't doing so hot. While she did manage to take out Charlie Chokecherry at the end of the last issue, she took a pretty brutal beating in the process. Loretta wakes up to find Omari sitting beside Polly's bloody body, but Loretta isn't one of the few adults able to see her so she has no idea the state Polly is in. Unfortunately for Melba, Polly's injuries make it impossible for her to go help out. And Cameron is pissed off. He is ready to end Melba for what she did to Brinke back in the day, and Polly isn't there to save her.

Melba pleads with Cameron to stop so that she can try to help save these kids that Fraidy Cat has been kidnapping, but Cameron isn't having any of it. He demands to know why she did it. Why did she bring Brinke into this? We see a quick flashback of Brinke and Melba as kids, with Brinke being constantly tormented by another girl named Claire Steinhall. Melba explains that the whole reason she got Brinke involved with Melba is so that she could escape. She even tries to put some of the blame on Cameron, saying that he only told Brinke to not be a wimp while their dad was too drunk to care. This gets to Cameron and he lashes out, yelling at Melba and blaming her for it all.

While that is going on, Crockett is off tracking down the source of the "piranha solution" in the hospital. Crockett fights off the man he saw dissolving Sands' body by the creek and reveals him to be Doctor Sutherland. Sutherland's face is half-burned from something but he manages to get away from Crockett. Crockett starts to call for backup in case he wasn't working alone when Fraidy Cat appears behind him. He can't see the IMP, but he knows that it's there. Fraidy Cat is able to manipulate reality so it sends Crockett flying into a wall in order to protect its "babies."

Crockett comes to in a room full of newborns. He proves his resourcefulness by thinking to move out of the way whenever a baby cries, avoiding Fraidy Cat's attacks. During one of Fraidy Cat's lunges, Crockett swings an axe just in time and lands a hit. Crockett has been experimenting with different substances for years, and it seems that he is finally on the same level as the IMPS. Fraidy Cat knocks over a crib and gets a hit on Crockett, but he's still able to dive and catch the baby as Fraidy Cat gets away.

Meanwhile, Cameron is still threatening to kill Melba. She talks to him long enough to get him to hesitate and lower his knife for a second, which gives her the chance to act and take him to the ground. Melba trips as she's running away and accepts that Cameron is going to kill her. But the kill doesn't come. When she tripped, she uncovered the bodies of the missing kids hidden under the floorboards, all of them shriveled up and wearing cat masks.

Cameron tells Melba that he is going to wait to deal with her, so they start working to free the kids that are under Fraidy Cat's influence. As Melba is helping Justin, Cameron is shot by a park ranger, possibly Sands. He puts a gun to Melba's head and tells her that he has a job to do. Dr. Sutherland is there as well, but his skull opens up and a part of his brain falls out before he goes splattering on the floor. The ranger looks conflicted and starts crying as he tells Melba how brave she is for staring death in the face. He looks like he's ready to pull the trigger when a bang behind him snaps him out of it. He turns around and we see August, the housekeeper at Loretta's house, standing there under the control of Fraidy Cat.

Wow this art is incredible once again. The team of Stephen Molnar and Quinton Winter is a force to be reckoned with and I think their art gets better and better each issue. There is so much detail in the way the IMPs are drawn and colored, and they absolutely nail it, not only on the big splash pages but the smaller panels as well. Combine that incredible art with an engaging story that keeps surprising me with where it's heading and you've got yourself a winner.

Bits and Pieces:

This continues to be one of my favorite series not just from Vertigo, but one of my favorites in general. Tim Seeley continues to craft a story that is equal parts fun and disturbing. The IMPs are menacing and the humans are fleshed out enough to keep you invested. On top of that, the art started strong and has gotten stronger as the series has progressed. Pick up this hidden gem of a comic before it's over.

9.3/10